The invention relates to the field of microphotonics, and in particular to reconfigurable microphotonic devices via a deformable membrane platform.
The vast majority of microphotonic devices possess a wide spectrum of applications. Most of these devices are static devices, where reconfiguration is not possible after device fabrication. To achieve tuning of microphotonic devices, the electro-optic effect, the charge-carrier effect (via temperature and/or doping) and the liquid crystal tuning methods have been reported. There is a need in the art to provide tunability in silicon microphotonics, given the absence of electro-optic effect in silicon. Our invention also permits low-power actuation, a response time on the order of 10−5 sec, and fine-resolution control of the tuning.